Ake Ake Kia Kaha!
Forever strong!
No. 75 Squadron RNZAF was an air combat squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It was formed from the RAF's World War II bomber squadron, No. 75 Squadron, which had been initially equipped by the New Zealand government and was largely manned by New Zealanders.
In recognition of their wartime record, in October 1946 the RAF officially handed over the 75 Squadron title and badge to the RNZAF. This is the only occasion that the RAF has “gifted” a Squadron title and badge to another Commonwealth Air Force and is a tribute to the sacrifices and contribution made by all New Zealanders in the RAF during World War II. It had flown more sorties and suffered more casualties than any other in the European theatre.
The post-World War II squadron reformed at RNZAF Base Ohakea from No. 2 Squadron RNZAF. It was initially equipped with twin-engine de Havilland Mosquito fighter/bombers. In 1950 and 1952 the squadron's Mosquito's sank two ships (for target practice), the barque Lutterworth with bombs in 1950 and the Arahura with rockets in 1952. The unit operated de Havilland Vampires from 1951 to 1970 out of Ohakea.
In 1970 14 McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawks were purchased to replace the Vampire FB5's of 75 Sqn – which was the primary attack squadron for the RNZAF. Ten were single-seat A-4Ks, and four twin-seat TA-4Ks. Early in their life all of the aircraft were modified with cranked refueling probes. In 1984, the NZ Government bought another 10 A-4s from the Australian Navy, and in 1988–89, the Skyhawk fleet underwent Project KAHU which upgraded the avionics systems. The squadron's former Royal Australian Navy A-4G aircraft were then re-designated A-4K/TA-4K.
In 1994 a major escape system change was initiated to fit the UPCO SIII3S-ER ejection seat to replace the MDD EScapac1G3. However, the National Party under Jenny Shipley then decided to replace the A-4 Skyhawks with 28 F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 15 surplus aircraft from the USA in 1998. But the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand under Helen Clark in 1999 with totally different military views decided to remove all attack aircraft from the RNZAF, and the Skyhawks were removed from service and the squadron ceased to exist on 13 December 2001, when the RNZAF Air Combat Force, comprising Nos 2, 14, and 75 Squadrons, was officially disbanded.
But what if...
Click images to enlarge.
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| Eight Shades of Blue exclusive delivery. |
A good option to the F-16s would be the F/A-18 Hornet, operated by other Commonwealth countries (Canada and Australia) from where a solution could have been found. Based on this theory, a 75th squadron Hornet would seem plausible, and so the one created for this particular order was given an anniversary high visibility livery, celebrating the 61 years of existence of the "strong ones", from 1940 to 2001.
The order for this particular RNZAF bird exclusive livery came from a loyal client of Eight Shades of Blue and proud New Zealander, Mit Zoobe, who likes to give his aircraft Aotearoa colors - even if they don't sport them in real life, which makes him the perfect customer for the "What If" series. The order was for a two pack, the D model being a replica of the C here depicted, also with a fictional sequential serial number.
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| Click image to enlarge. |
The cost of a Shana Aircraft F/A-18C unique custom livery is 3,000 L$ with guaranteed exclusive and support for 12 months. Auto paint delivery system included. Pilot name modification by the client is possible, though usually included in the work. Additional liveries of this design licensed by the buyer to others will involve a 600 L$ fee due by each of the chosen recipients. A pack of two liveries ordered at the same time for this livery model applied to its F/A-18D counterpart varies from 4,000 L$ to 5,000 L$, depending on the work involved in the transposition of the C model to the D model. Same warranty applicable in all cases.
AIRCRAFT PROFILE COST:
The cost of a Shana Aircraft F/A-18C unique aircraft profile using the unique livery ordered is 500 L$. Supplied with frame. Permissions: no mod, copy, no transfer.
TIME TO COMPLETION:
48 hours from start, 72 hours with profile. Start depending on lined up and ongoing work.
AIRCRAFT INFO:
!SC : F/A-18C and F/A-18D Hornet - v1.3
Shana Aircraft does not have a SL Market Place store. You will need to find the F/A-18C Hornet in a vendor at Shana Carpool's store in Meridas (SLUR here).
Note: Color schemes for this aircraft without U.S.N. Third Fleet S.L. markings but using generic Navy markings are available on demand. U.S.N. Third Fleet S.L. orders have a special discount on this type. See Third Fleet price list here!
Disclaimer:
All references in this entry refer only to the item illustrated.
Great article, well written and researched. Aircraft in question excellently painted.
ReplyDeleteThank you Peter :)
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